Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-09-15
IN A LODGING HOUSE.
CHEAP QUARTERS FOR THE WAN
DERERS or THE METROPOLIS.

A Night in "a New York Establishment.
Glimpse OF an Uninvitlng Interior.
Down ON Ills Luck-A Big business.
The Patrons.
There was sort of triangular trans
pareney that announced from the top of
the front doo- to n homeless public that
lodging for the night might be had for the
small sum of half dollar, and that if
they did not possess that requisite frac-
ton even the smaller denominator OF
quarter would procure them shelter. At
1890, when presented myself at the en-
trance, the janitor told me that the half
dollar beds were already occupied, but
that il could curb my tendency to lux
ury he could accommodate me on the
third pair back with what he called 3
'tquarter bed.r / accepted this PROPOSE
ton, went into little Office, where de-
posted my quarter on n small desk and
got dirty yellow ticket in return. There
was an elderly gentleman, whose coat was
buttoned quite up to his chin even on that
warm evening" who preceded me and who
was expostulating in meek undertone
with the stony parsonage who sat behind
the desk.
''Surely you can trust me for tonight"
he said II am positive TO be able TO pay
by the end of the week. F"
The clerk threw open ledger with q
bang, ran his dingy finger down list,
fixed his boiled eyes upon the expostula-
tor, and read out:
"Green: Seven quarter beds-unpaid.
Can't do it till you pay up"
"But | have no place to sleep" qua
vered the old party.
Every sorry. We dcp't keep a charita-
BILE lodging house. Good night" And
the melancholy old party wandered dis
mally out into the street again with the
sneaky, deprecating air asd gait of n lost
dog. A man in white high hat came in,
threw down the piece of fractional cur
rency necessary, and got a ticket emitting
him to bed next to mine. AS the night
was hot, all doors were wide open and we
glanced into the apartments that lay along
our route upward.
INTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS
On the first floor, where nights lodg-
ing costs 80 cents, there were six parti-
tions in each room, no larger than I'm oy-
ster shell. In each of these there was
single bed of white pine, shelf, with
hole cut in it to hold basin, and roller
towel and small mirror hung on the par
tition wall that was only six feet high and
allowed the center chandelier to light the
whole apartment. The hall bed room,
that in ordinary boarding houses has oil
it can do to contain one man, is here die
vided into three apartments. In the third
pair back whittier we were bound, there
were no partitions. There were twelve
cot beds disposed in two rows of six each,
and all of them were occupied but three.
The windows were wide open as was the
door, and an asthmatical gas jet whcezcd
with feeble light. Men in various stages
of dishabille were sprawled over the beds.
Some had only taken off their coats and
shoes. Others were in more or less dilap-
idated underclothes and two more very
little of anything. My friend in the white
high hat, who proved to be Of the gam
bler's persuasion and down on his luck,
was very talkative, and while he removed
his garments preparatory to retiring inn
parted considerable information ON the
subject of cheap lodging houses, with
which he had had n wide experience
Though do go up to the Buckingham
sometimes when the cards amt against
me like they are now, he explained. He
removed his hat and his coat, which was
not of n bad cut and revealed the fact that
his collar and cravat had concealed, that
he wore no shirt but he took the fact
! and get into bed, all the while conversing
pleasantly. The beds themselves were
hardly more than canvas stretchcrs, with
thin mattress of husks and straw; one
sheet, a calico quilt and a sort of flexible
fallopean tube for q bolster-no pillow,
no privacy, no washing utensils and next
| to no ventilation, added to which was
that repulsive sensation of clammy dirti-
ness that peryades such places, and it
will be seen that twenty-five cents was
full pay for the accommodation. Yet my
cheerful friend told me that these places
were always full.
A BIG BUSINESS.
s'They do a big business from years end
to years end, you bet. You see there's
thousands and thousands of people in New
York that haven't got home and they're
glad enough to get the semblance of one
for night at this price. No one can real
ize until they've tried it what the feeling
is to be walking about the streets at night
fall and know that there is no pl:,ce Won